Orange Crush
by MalusMagus
Summary: Takes place summer after fifth year. Ron and Hermione get together. They team up with a few others to get Harry and Ginny together.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note- I started this story while my fountain of Second War ideas was clogged. I'd like to thank my awesome Beta, the one, the only, Ingrid. Now, with out further ado- Orange Crush.

* * *

**Orange Crush**

**By MalusMagus**

**Chapter One**

Ginny Weasley was underneath the nearly ancient oak tree in the clearing near the Burrow. She lay on her back on top of the blanket she brought out with her nearly three hours ago. Her eyes were lightly shut and fluttered every few seconds as she dreamed.

Ginny gracefully climbed down the stairs of the Burrow, the morning sun shining in her eyes for a second and she moved fractionally. Someone was coming towards her, their body merely a shadow in front of the sun. When he got closer, she saw it was Harry walking towards her. He held his hand out to her and his fingertips trailed down the side of her face. "Ginny," he whispered, his voice pitched like the wind. She closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his touch.

_When she opened her them again, she was no longer in the Burrow, nor was it morning. It was the middle of the night and she was at Hogwarts, in the Astronomy tower. She paced back and forth, seemingly under stress, when someone came behind her and placed their hands on her shoulders. Ginny tensed for a minute, before realizing whom it was. It was Harry again. He was rubbing her shoulders gently and whispering words of encouragement. "I know you can do it Ginny. You're more prepared for your O.W.L.s than Hermione was," he said softly in her ear._

_She closed her eyes once more, before opening them again to find yet another change of scene. She was on the Quidditch pitch. She looked around. The quaffle was coming towards her. She plucked it deftly from the air and sped towards the left goal post. She swerved at the last second and the quaffle went straight through the center hoop. The crowd roared its approval. Just as she was back at the center of the pitch again, awaiting the quaffle, another cheer went up. She looked around. She spotted Harry, snitch in hand, heading for the ground, along with the rest of the team. She joined them. "We did it, Ginny! We won!" Harry shouted to her above the other noise. Before she knew it, she was wrapped in his arms. She closed her eyes._

When she opened her eyes the last time, she was back under the oak tree. She closed her eyes again, wanting to be wrapped in Harry's arms once more, but to no avail. She sighed and sat up.

The sun was getting closer to the west horizon, so Ginny assumed it was almost time for dinner. She got up and stretched her back rather sore from the bumpy ground. "No more fantasizing, Ginny. It'll never happen," she muttered to herself as she picked up her blanket and book. "Plus, you're over him!" she said forcefully, as she started for the Burrow.

* * *

"Hermione, Ron," Molly Weasley called from the kitchen. "Dinner is nearly ready!"

Ron groaned stretched in his chair. "Be there in a minute, mum!" he shouted, turning back to the game he was playing. Hermione was actually proving to be quite a Chess opponent. Ron's brow furrowed as he looked at the possibilities. Then he smirked and moved his bishop. "Ha! Checkmate!"

Hermione scowled at the board. "Almost," she muttered as she started to clear the pieces up.

"You're really good, Hermione!" Ron said in an appreciative voice. "Let's do this again tomorrow." Hermione blushed, nodded and continued to clean up the board. Ron stretched again. This time, his leg brushed up against Hermione's. They both blushed and hid their faces. "Er… um…" said Ron, at loss for words. "I'm – uh, hungry." He got up quickly and made for the kitchen, face as red as a tomato.

Hermione came in minutes later. "Wow, Mrs. Weasley, this smells really good!"

"Oh, thank you, dear," Mrs. Weasley said kindly, putting Hermione's plate in front of her.

"Yeah, mum," Ron said, licking his lips subconsciously as he looked at Hermione's plate.

"Oh, Ron, you'll get your plate in a minute, the compliments don't speed things up," Mrs. Weasley said with a mixture of irritation and laughter.

"It doesn't hurt though," Ron said under his breath. Hermione heard him and smiled, turning away and trying – rather unsuccessfully – to hide it.

"Has anyone seen Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley said as she set Ron's plate down. Ron promptly stuffed his face with steak.

Hermione was busy thoroughly chewing her food as Ron spoke, bits of food flying from his mouth. "Las' time I saw, she was 'eadin' out the door,"

"Ronald, as much as I want to know, next time it can wait until your food has been chewed and swallowed."

Ron swallowed his food and grimaced. "Sorry, mum."

"It's alright, dear," she said exasperatedly.

"Mrs. Weasley, she told me, well, it must've been four hours ago now, that she was heading out to the oak tree to read," Hermione said.

"Thank you, Hermione, dear," Mrs. Weasley said.

The three heard the door slammed shut and they were confused until they heard a loud, "I'm back!" Each breathed a sigh of relief. What with the war starting, one could never be certain…

"Hi, mum!" Ginny said brightly. "Hermione, Ron, how'd the Chess go?" she asked, sitting down at the table.

"Ron won," Hermione said in a defeated voice. "Again."

"Well, that's good for you Ron," Ginny said, as she cut up the food her mother had just place in front of her.

"'Mione was close though!" Ron said just before he opened his mouth and stuck in a large piece of broccoli.

Hermione rolled her eyes. For his behavior or comment, Ginny didn't know. "Not really. I messed up and he caught the mistake. It was easy."

Ginny shrugged. "Have another match tomorrow, Hermione. Loser has to read a book, okay?" she said with a smile.

"Okay, then," Hermione smiled back. "When's Harry coming over?" she asked randomly.

"Well," Ron said, swallowing a large amount of food before continuing. "Dad asked Dumbledore. Dumbledore said okay. The Order's picking him up tomorrow at five in the morning. Ridiculous if you ask me. Honestly, 5 am!" Ron trailed off.

"He's going to be in a right state, you know," Hermione said knowingly. "After Sirius… He's going to not want to talk about it and shut himself out. We've seen it in his letters already… He only says what he needs to… I suppose he might be doing that so no one finds out anything about the Order or his whereabouts, but still…"

"I'm done," Ginny said, pushing her nearly empty plate far in front of her. "I'll be in my room. Unless you want help, mum," she directed to her mother at the other end of the table.

"No, Ginny, dear. It's quite all right. I'll handle it. It's just the four of us after all," Mrs. Weasley said kindly.

"Okay, see you tomorrow!" Ginny said quickly, before leaving the room.

Hermione and Ron stared after her. "That was odd…"

Hermione was thinking though. Thoughts raced through her head. _She's acting like she's eleven again. No… She said… No…_

"Hermione…?" Ron said, waving his hand in front of her face. She swatted at his hand.

"Oh, quit it, Ron. I'm thinking," Hermione said irritably, before looking up at him.

"She's acting like she's eleven again," Hermione said plainly.

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.

"Like she's eleven. Remember?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I remember when she was eleven. She had a crush on my best friend, for crying out loud, Hermione! What are you getting at?" Ron asked.

"That's exactly what I'm getting at, Ron. She had a crush on Harry. She's acting like that again. Just by mentioning him, she's bolted out the door…" Hermione reasoned.

A look of horror and realization came upon Ron's face. "No… Hermione, she can't like Harry!"

"And why not. She's a fifteen-year-old girl. It's normal. Isn't it, Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione asked, turning to the redheaded witch.

"Yes, dear, it is," she said, getting up to clean her plate off.

"See, Ronald?"

Ron frowned, but nodded. "So now, what are you getting at?"

"Well," Hermione dropped her voice so Ginny couldn't possibly hear. Mrs. Weasley came over and sat down with them. "Harry's not going to want to talk to anyone, I'm guessing. He'll be very withdrawn after what happened. But if Ginny gets close to him, she can help him more. He'll talk to her. They have so much in common… Plus, I think that Harry might actually like her. And Ginny likes him already."

"I'm not letting my baby sister's heart get broken! If he doesn't like her-," Ron began.

"Harry's not the heart-breaking type, Ron. You know that…" Hermione said.

"And how do you plan on getting them together?" Ron asked.

"Well, I don't know. We'll have to play that out as we go along, see how they react," Hermione said.

"There's something you two – and Ginny – doesn't know. He's going straight to Grimmauld Place. We're going there in a little while," Mrs. Weasley said. "That's why I didn't let you unpack earlier," she added.

"This is better," said Hermione as she sat back in her seat confidently. "Now I_ know_ how he'll react."

* * *

"Got your things, then, Harry?" Tonks said as she and Harry scaled the staircase on their way to his room.

"I just need to get it downstairs," Harry said blandly. Ever since he got back to Privet Drive, he had barely said anything. All the Dursley's had heard from him all summer was, "yes, Uncle Vernon," and "no, Uncle Vernon," and, "of course, Uncle Vernon." Uncle Vernon was the only one that dared to talk to him. Dudley wasn't about to talk to him after the Dementor incident the summer before and Petunia didn't bother. She just brought up meals to his room three times a day and left with out a word.

"Right, then, allow me," Tonks said as she caught sight of his trunk. "_Wingardium leviosa_!" The trunk levitated six inches off the ground and Tonks directed it out of the room. "You just take care of Hedwig."

Harry nodded as Tonks left the room. "Do you want to fly then, girl?" he asked softly. Hedwig gave a soft hoot and nipped his finger affectionately before taking off out the open window.

The sun had just risen and part of the sky was still rather dark, he noticed as he looked out the window after his beloved owl.

Harry closed the window and picked Hedwig's cage up. He walked out the door and down the stairs.

"Ready?" asked Moody, his magical eye spinning around. "Arthur's in the front with the car. Let's go out the back –," he began. Tonks cut him off.

"We'll go out the front, Moody. It's, what, twenty feet from there? What's the probability that we'll be attacked as soon as we step out the front door?"

"It could happen. You're too young and reckless to realize that though," Moody growled. "And you call yourself an Auror," he added.

"We'll go out the front, Alastor," Remus cut in, bored with their bickering. Moody scowled and started for the front door, making a loud 'clunk' every other step.

Harry readjusted his grip on the cage and followed the retired Auror through the house and over the threshold. When he stepped outside, he instantly spotted the car Moody had mentioned. As promised, Arthur was in the front seat waiting for them. He promptly stepped out of the car and made to greet Harry.

"Good morning, Harry," Mr. Weasley said brightly.

"Morning, Mr. Weasley. How are you?" he returned politely, yet there was no spark in his eyes, his voice didn't match his greeting. He was unhappy, they could tell.

"I'm just fine, Harry," Mr. Weasley said, his voice much less chipper than it was before. Harry could tell he was going to say something, but he closed his mouth just after opening it. Harry supposed someone gave him a signal of some sort, clearly stating, 'don't push it!' "Let's get your things in the car, eh?" he asked, taking the cage from Harry and opening the trunk with a swish of his wand.

"Careful, Weasley," growled Moody. "Don't want any muggles to see."

Mr. Weasley looked at Moody then scanned the surrounding area before looking back to the old Auror and nodding once.

"Best get in the car then, Harry," Remus said gently. Harry nodded and opened the door to the car before climbing in.

Upon entering the car, he noticed the inside was much larger than one would think from the outside. On the outside, it was a fairly new, green car. On the inside, though, it resembled a limousine. The seats were along the length of the car as well as row in the back. Harry took a seat on one of the sides close to the front. Tonks took the passenger seat in the front and Moody and Remus took the seats closest to the doors in the back row. Mr. Weasley resumed his spot behind the wheel.

It was almost silent as Mr. Weasley started the car except for Tonks, who was kindly offering to drive instead. "I know I could. I've done it once before," Tonks said to Mr. Weasley, who politely declined and started pressing a few buttons. He mumbled to himself as he pressed the buttons, "Invisibility, magically enhanced speed," were some of the words Harry caught.

Harry looked outside as Mr. Weasley stepped on the gas. Things went by quicker than they would normally and Harry felt as if they were going the speed limit. Harry's thoughts were broken by Moody's voice.

"I heard you want to be an Auror," he growled. Harry's head snapped to the Auror's direction. His expression was a mixture of pride and amusement, Harry would say. It was hard to tell with Moody, though.

Harry nodded.

"Hard job, that is," he growled. "But rewarding, no less."

Harry nodded again and looked back out the window.

"James was lined up to be an Auror," Remus said quietly, but Harry heard him clearly.

He instantly had Harry's attention. "Really?" he asked as he looked at the werewolf.

Remus nodded. "He was nearly finished with the training. He was set to start officially just after the winter holidays."

Harry nodded, still looking at him, waiting for more. Whether it was more information about his father, or information about Auror training, he didn't know for sure.

"When I said 'officially,' I meant that he had already started going on a few missions for them. He was so good at what he was training to do, the department believed, that he only needed part time of the rest of his training and he could go on missions with them the rest of the time. So the missions he went on were always really short. But he had a lot of fun with them. He'd go track down Death Eaters with the rest of the department," Remus said reminiscently.

Moody spoke next in his usual low growl. "That was before I retired. I actually went on a few missions with him. Quite a fighter, he was. But when the two of us were fighting on the same mission, those Death Eaters didn't have a chance in Hell."

Harry almost smiled. After Snape's pensieve, he'd had doubts about his father. But this conversation was helping. He settled with a nod.

Remus was about to speak, when Mr. Weasley's voice sounded from the front. "We're here."

Harry looked out the window and instantly paled, the little colour left in his face draining quickly from it. He'd been told they were going to Grimmauld Place, but upon arriving, he found it was much worse than he imagined.

* * *

Ron and Hermione both sat on the window seat in Ron and Harry's room at Grimmauld Place. "So, when he gets here, he'll probably want to go be alone, you know," Hermione said. "He'll probably want to come in here or something."

Ron nodded, barely listening as he looked out the window. He'd heard this four times already. He was thinking. _I suppose I do like her, even if she is the smartest girl of the year._

"So we should probably go downstairs to greet him when he gets here instead of like last year when he came up and found us," Hermione went on.

Ron nodded again. _I wonder if she likes me too._

"Do you think we should go downstairs and wait now or later?" she asked.

Ron nodded again. _I'll have to ask._ He stopped nodding half way through. "What?" he asked. He tuned her out and wasn't ready for a question.

"Do you think we should go downstairs and wait now or later?" Hermione repeated.

"Later, I suppose," Ron said, shrugging.

"Okay," Hermione said quietly, turning to look out the window as well.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. "'Mione?" Ron asked, as he turned to look at her.

"Yes, Ron?" she asked.

_What if she doesn't like me? I'll look like a bloody idiot. How do I ask? Do I just say 'Do you like me?'_

"Ron?"

"Do you like me Hermione?"

"Yes, Ron, of course I like you. Why would I be hanging around you if I didn't like you?" Hermione asked.

"I mean, as more than one of your best friends," Ron specified, blushing. _This is so stupid! Of course she doesn't like me as more than a friend!_

Hermione blushed as well. _I am so obvious that he knows?_ "I- I-," she stuttered helplessly.

"Oh, never mind, then," Ron said, defeated, looking back out the window.

"Y-ye-," Hermione was still stuttering.

Ron looked at her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes again, composure regained. "How did you know?" she whispered.

Ron's eyes widened. "I didn't, Hermione. I just – Well, I – I like you and I wanted to know – If you felt something for me too."

Hermione blushed again and nodded.

"Well, then…" Ron said, taking a deep breath and leaning back. "I suppose that just leaves one more question, then. Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked, wondering how the hell he got so brave.

Hermione nodded again and reached for his hand.

* * *

Ginny starred solemnly out of the window, thinking. _Harry is supposed to be here soon. How is this going to play out? How can I be around him? I had to leave the room last night as Harry came up in the conversation. I'll end up sticking my elbow in the butter dish again if I keep this up! He'll end up knowing that I like him again. Wait. Do I like him again? I can't…_

A minute later, the car appeared on the street next to the house. Ginny jumped and her heartbeat rose. She took in several deep breaths before leaving to go to Ron's room.

She knocked on the door and with out waiting of an answer, entered the room. Hermione and him were both sitting on the window seat, hand in hand, looking out the window. She stopped for a second, shocked. At the same time she thought, _'Which one of them got a clue?'_

"You must not have seen, from where the window is positioned," Ginny said. "Harry's here."

They both let go of each other's hand and blushed, having been so comfortable, they forgot they were holding hands. Ron and Hermione both got up and then Ron said, "Thanks, Gin."

Ginny nodded and left, going back to her room. As soon as she got there, she shut the door and collapsed on her bed. _That was odd_, she thought. _I'll be in here, though. That way, it won't be awkward.

* * *

_

Harry stepped inside Number 12. A dreadful feeling washed over him. _Sirius should be here. Sirius should be the first one to say hello._

But Sirius was not the first one to say hello. It was Hermione, who at that moment, was coming down the stairs. "Hello, Harry!" she whispered excitedly and through her arms around him in a bear hug. "How was the ride here?" she asked as she stepped back.

"Okay," Harry said. "Where's Ron?" he asked.

Hermione looked at the stairs. "Well, he was right behind me when we left. He's probably just taking his time," she said.

As Hermione said, he was taking his time. He started down the stairs just a moment later, he might as well have been whistling as he strolled down the stairs. He had a huge, content grin plastered on his face and his hands were in his pockets as he walked down.

"Hey, Harry. How've you been, mate?" he asked as he extended his hand for a handshake.

Harry shook his hand and almost smiled at his friend. "Fine," he said. "When did you guys get here?" he asked.

"Well, we got here last night," Hermione said.

"Hermione came to the Burrow yesterday, though," Ron said. Hermione nodded in agreement.

Harry nodded. "Where's Ginny?" he asked.

Ron looked upstairs. "Must be upstairs. I didn't hear her go down the stairs after she told us you came," he said.

"Oh," said Harry.

"Harry, dear!" Mrs. Weasley came into the hallway and gave Harry and bone-breaking hug. "Oh, all of you, in the kitchen. Don't want to wake up the portraits," she said and ushered them all in the kitchen.

"You must all be hungry! It's only 6:15. I'll have breakfast ready in a minute," Mrs. Weasley said kindly. "Ron, is Ginny up yet?" she asked as she went to the stove, where eggs and potatoes were already cooking.

"Yeah, mum," he said.

"Go get her, will you?" she asked.

Ron sighed and stood up. "Yeah, mum." Ron left the kitchen.

"Good morning, Molly," growled Moody. "I haven't seen you since the platform. How've you been?"

"Just fine, Mad-eye. And yourself?" she asked.

"Nothing unusual… My eye still gets sticky every so often, ever since that bastard wore it… But I suppose I should be used to it by now," he growled.

"Yes, I suppose you should," Molly said as she finished with some toast and brought it to the table. Hermione and Harry sat down at one end of the table, saving two spots in between them. Ron came into the kitchen moments later, Ginny trailing behind him tiredly.

"G-good morning, Har-ry," she yawned.

"Morning, Ginny," he said.

"Good summer? No, of course not… Nevermind… Sorry," she apologized.

"'S fine," he said, as he got a piece of toast from the middle of the table. "It actually hasn't been too bad, I suppose," he said, truthfully. He didn't have any chores to do all summer, nor did he talk to the Dursley's often. The only bad thing was Grimmauld Place.

"That's g-good," she yawned again as she spoke.

"Here, Harry, dear," Mrs. Weasley said as she put a heap of eggs and potatoes on his plate.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley, he said as he sluggishly got his fork, wondering if he could eat half of that.

"It's no problem at all, dear," she said, giving everyone else in the room eggs and potatoes.

Harry took a few bites and was already feeling a bit full. He ate a bit more. He put down his fork and decided to wait a bit before he attempted to eat more.

He looked around the room. Remus and Tonks were sitting side by side. Rather close, he noted. Moody sat on the other side of Tonks and would occasionally talk to her about being an Auror and give her some 'useful' tips. Then on the other side of the table, across from those three sat Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, talking quietly to one another and smiling. On his end of the table, Ron and Hermione sat together, just as close as Tonks and Remus, he realized. Each of them was eating with opposite hands, and one of each of their hands was under the table. Ginny sat next to Hermione and Harry sat next to Ginny.

"So which one of you got a clue?" Harry directed his comment at Ron and Hermione. The whole table stopped talking and looked at the other end of the table.

Ron and Hermione blushed equal shades of scarlet and let go of each other's hands under the table.

Harry sat back and watched. He wasn't angry. He was actually rather amused.

Ron spoke up. "I did."

Hermione was nearly petrified. "You don't mind, do you, Harry? I mean-," she was cut off by Harry.

"I don't mind at all. I was just wondering. You know, everyone knew except you two…" Harry said with a smirk.

The two flushed again as the table laughed.

* * *

Harry sat on the bed in Sirius's room. He sat thinking. _Sirius should be here. He should've be sleeping here tonight and last night and the night before… And he isn't… He isn't because of me…_

He had been there since breakfast. He wasn't hungry for lunch, he told Ron and Hermione when they came to fetch him. They nodded and left him in the room.

_I wonder… Is Buckbeak still here? I'll check later… _His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Harry? Harry, I have your dinner here. Mum didn't think you were going to want to come down. Can I come in?"

Harry strode across the room and opened the door. Ginny was standing there. She had a tray in her hand, filled with more food than he'd eaten all summer. "Yeah, come in. Here, I'll take that," he said as he took the tray from her and set it on the desk across the room. "Thanks, Ginny," he said.

"It's no problem, Harry," she said with a small smile. "I know you read it in the letters from Ron and Hermione earlier in the summer, but you know that people are willing to listen if you want to talk. I'll listen too…" she trailed off.

Harry gave her a small smile. "I know, Ginny."

"Good," she said.

"I wanted to thank you. You know, for coming to the Ministry and all…" Harry said, looking at the floor.

"It's no problem, Harry. You trained us all year and you needed help, even if you didn't want it," Ginny said softly.

"Yeah…" Harry agreed. He looked around the room: anywhere but her face. If he looked at her face, he'd probably turn into a mess. He remembered the food he'd set down and looked at it. There was a mountain on top of the tray and he was surprised Ginny was able to carry it up the stairs. "Hey, you want to eat with me? There's too much food and your mum will probably throw a fit if half of it isn't gone."

Ginny was caught off guard by the offer. She was actually going to leave because things seemed to be a bit awkward. But then she thought, _'He's already trying to close himself off! At least he's willing to be around someone. Ron and Hermione will kill me if I let him eat by himself…' _"Sure, Harry."

"Great," Harry said, actually, quite a bit happier by the sound of his voice. They walked over to the desk where the tray was. There was a chair there and one on the other side of the room. "I'll go get the other chair, then," he said and walked over to the other side of the room as Ginny sat down.

"Wow," Ginny marveled at all the food. "That _is_ a lot of food." Harry came back with the chair.

"Yeah," Harry said.

"It's almost as if she planned on me eating with you," Ginny said, dishing out the food. She looked at Harry with wide eyes. "Do you think she did?"

"I'd rather have her plan on us eating together than me eating it all," Harry said.

"I suppose you would," she said, "I'll go get another plate." Ginny left and a few minutes later returned with another plate and cup, more silverware and napkins.

"Okay, then," she said brightly, setting herself in her chair. _Oh my god, oh my god, I'm eating dinner with Harry! _Of course she'd eaten dinner with Harry on a number of occasions. But this was better, special even; it was just the two of them.

So they started eating their dinner in silence. It was still a bit awkward between them, but they were slowly getting comfortable in each other's presence.

About five minutes into their meal, Harry had the feeling that they should be talking. It shouldn't be so… strained. It was hard to pick out what to say. _Should I tell her that she's the prettiest girl ever? Should I say that I like how her hair is done today? No… She was just wearing her hair in a ponytail. It's not that special… but it does look nice. What should I say? _"Thanks for eating with me," was going to be the next thing he was going to think, except that he said it out loud.

Ginny looked up from her plate, which she'd been staring at, thinking of conversation starters as well. "What? Oh, it's no problem. It's nice," she said.

"Yeah," Harry said.

"Can I ask you something, Harry?" she asked.

"Sure," he said.

"Are you okay with being here?" she asked. She was mentally kicking herself afterwards. _He's going to get angry. Ron'll kill me._

Harry didn't expect her to ask that. Actually, he didn't know what to expect. He didn't hang out with her often._ At least she isn't as afraid to bring up things around me as Ron and Hermione are… as everyone is…_

"I suppose. It's… it's just a bit hard you know. It's my fault that Sirius isn't here and now I'm here… I just think it's wrong. If we could change places…" Harry didn't know what he would do to change places with Sirius. He'd love to do that. He knew it wasn't possible. But he would…

"Harry, listen to me," Ginny said rather forcefully. "It's _not_ your fault. I know you read it in the letters, but it's the truth. We wouldn't lie to you. Not Ron, not Hermione and not me either. We're your friends. And it's _not_ your fault. Don't even _think_ about 'swapping circumstances' with Sirius either. You're here. We'll see the old dog later on. But for now, you have to live; or at least _try_ to live. Sirius would want you to." Ginny was standing up with her hands on her hips when she was done. She promptly sat down. "Sorry. But you have to realize that."

Harry nodded and looked at his shoes. "I know. It's taking time. I'm better – and worse, too – now that I'm back here. I'm better 'cause I'm with you and Ron and Hermione and just back in the wizarding world. It's worse to be here though. The memories. Not that there are many… But there are quite a few…"

Ginny nodded understandingly. "You know, Sirius and I got kind of close too. Not as close as you two were, but he did talk to me quite a bit. He said I was easy to talk to because I looked a bit like- like your mum… He told me a bit about your parents too. He said that I brought back memories to him… So he told me what he remembered when he looked at me…" She said. It was true, though. Before Harry came to Grimmauld Place last summer especially. When they were cleaning and were away from everyone else he'd talk to her a lot.

"Could you tell me?" Harry asked.

Ginny nodded and started talking. It was like the conversations were flowing out of her. She'd tell every detail she could remember. And Harry sat across from her, giving her his undivided attention.

About two hours later, they stopped, promising to save the rest for later.

"I should go to bed now," Ginny said, standing up and stretching. Harry stood up too. "Oh, I'll take that down stairs first, for you."

"Thanks," Harry said. "For everything, you know."

Ginny nodded and smiled at him. He noticed for the first time that he was more than a few inches taller than she was, thanks to the growth spurt he'd undergone, and her petite size, probably inherited from the Weasley matriarch. "It's no problem, Harry. I'll come by tomorrow morning with breakfast if you like," she said, almost jokingly, yet not joking.

"Okay," Harry said. "G'night."

"Night, Harry," she said and closed the door behind her. She sighed happily as she headed downstairs. Maybe there was a chance that Harry would like her after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note- Hello, readers! Thanks for reading! This is going to be slow as far as updates go… especially with school and my other story. Just so you know… Again, like last chapter, I'd like to thank my awesome Beta (drum roll) the one, the only… Nimbirosa. And now…

* * *

**Orange Crush**

**By MalusMagus**

**Chapter Two**

Harry woke up the next, oddly refreshed. For once, he had slept through the night peacefully with out any interruptions on visions. But he did have a dream concerning a certain redhead…

Stretching, he stood up from the bed and rubbed his eyes, vaguely wondering if Ginny was going to remember to bring breakfast. He gathered his clothes and headed for the bathroom, wanting to take a quick shower before he had to put up with the day.

When he got back to the room, clean and dressed, he noticed a note on his bed. It was a black colored feminine scrawl.

_Harry,_

_Meet me in my room for breakfast, if you don't mind._

_Gin_

Harry picked up the note and put it in his pocket before heading to her room. When he got there, he knocked softly on the door.

"That you Harry?" she asked. "Come in."

He opened the door. Ginny was sitting at her desk, setting two places.

Looking around the room, he noticed the décor. The walls were mostly black; a red and gold stripe bordered it waist high. The bedspread was black too. Harry assumed that the black was the existing color from the Blacks that lived there years ago and Ginny just wanted a bit more color. The floor was a new red carpet whose color was the exact shade of that on the wall. All the wood in the room resembled his wand, Harry also noticed; Holly.

Harry made his way to the desk and sat in the chair next to Ginny.

"Morning, Ginny," he said.

"Good morning, Harry. Have a good sleep?" she asked amiably.

Harry nodded and help finish with the silverware. "Really good, for a change. How about you," he asked.

"Same," she said, dishing out some fruit.

Harry nodded. "That's good," he said. _What else should I say? How am I supposed to change the subject?_ he thought exasperatedly.

"Did you finish your school work yet?" Ginny asked.

_That helped_, he thought. "No," he said. "Have you?"

"Of course not," Ginny said laughingly.

"Want to start it today? I'll help you and stuff," Harry suggested as he started with a piece of sausage. He stabbed at it, cut it up and moved around the pieces before actually eating one. He was surprised when it tasted remarkably good. Even for Weasley food. "Ginny, who made this?" he asked.

Ginny blushed. "I knew it wouldn't turn out good. Damn, next time I'll have mum make it…" she said to herself.

"It was you?" Harry asked incredulously. Ginny nodded, looking at her plate, the cooked food thus far untouched. "Ginny, this is better than your mum's!" he said.

Ginny's eyebrows escalated to her hairline. "You can't be serious?" she asked, in little more than a whisper.

Harry nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I am," he said, before taking a few more pieces of sausage.

The redhead blushed and started eating.

Harry thought for a minute before talking. "Hey, Gin? Do you know if Buckbeak is still here?" he asked.

_Gin? When'd he start calling me that? Well, I did write it in the note…_ Ginny thought. "Yeah, he's still here. Why?"

"I wanted to go see him," Harry said, eating a bit more.

Ginny nodded. "I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem. We can take him his lunch," she said.

Harry gave her a small smile before finishing his breakfast. Ginny finished shortly after.

"So, how about you go get your school things and bring them in here? Unless you want to study in the other room?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, here is fine," Harry reassured her.

Ginny smiled. "Okay, I'll take this down while you get your things." She grabbed the tray of food and dishes and made her way out the door Harry held open for her.

Harry went back to his room and got his books, a quill, ink and a huge load of parchment before making his way back to Ginny's room.

Ginny was already back and throwing things from her trunk onto the bed beside her. She stood up and gave a satisfied nod at her trunk and turned to face the bed and Harry. She was startled by his silent appearance, but recovered in record time.

"Harry, I was thinking while you were gone," she began, her brow furrowed as she looked at the desk. "There isn't enough room for both of us to do homework at the desk at the same time," she said.

Harry looked at the desk. It was quite small, suitable for one person and maybe three books. He looked around the room. The only other idea he had was to use the bed. "Well," he said, not quite sure how she'd take the suggestion. "We could do our homework on the bed…" he said. She's going to think that a really weird idea. And if Ron saw us… Harry shuddered inwardly. Ginny didn't notice.

"I suppose, that's an idea…" she said as she organized her things on the bed. "It's either that or the floor. And the floor isn't comfy… I fell out of be last night, so I should know…" She laughed feebly and rubbed her right arm gingerly.

Harry smiled a bit. "Ok, the bed it is then," he said, perhaps a little too brightly. Ginny raised her eyebrows and Harry blushed and looked down, setting his things on the opposite side of the bed.

"What should we start with?" Ginny asked.

"History? It's the worst, so we should get it over with now," Harry said decisively.

Ginny nodded in agreement and they pulled out their History text and a set of parchment. They worked silently except for the occaisional question. "Who was the Head Witch of Salem in 1692?" or "When was the Goblin Revolution in Egypt?"

When they finished History almost an hour later, they moved on to Potions. After that were Transfiguration, then Charms, Divination and Arithmancy.

It was nearly lunch by the time they were finished. "That wasn't hard. Maybe we should do homework all at once during the summer… it takes less time," Ginny said. They smiled at each other and headed downstairs.

When they arrived on the first floor, they found it to be nearly jammed pack with Order members. Ron and Hermione were also down there.

"Hey, where've you two been all morning?" Ron said.

"In my room doing homework," Ginny said.

Ron raised his eyebrows and Hermione gave an approving nod. "See Ron. And I bet they're nearly finished too? It doesn't take long, really," Hermione said.

"Yeah, we finished," Harry said.

Hermione smiled. "Now you have the whole summer to have fun," she said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, yeah, Hermione," Ron said. "Spare us, will you?"

Hermione gave an indignant, "Hem!" and left for the food table.

"Oh, Ron," Ginny said exasperatedly. "Look what you've gone and done. Now Hermione's mad at you," she said.

"Well, it's not my fault," Ron said, though he wasn't convincing.

"Not your fault? Ron, you just made her mad. Just go kiss and make up before this escalates," Ginny said, rolling her eyes at him. Ron nodded and left to search for Hermione through the crowd.

"Well, that got them out of the way," Harry said gratefully.

Ginny smiled. "Works like a charm," she said. And they left to get lunch.

* * *

After lunch, one could find Harry and Ginny making their way upstairs. Harry carried an odd sack and Ginny was telling him about Buckbeak's attitude lately.

"He's been really upset. He doesn't let anyone besides Remus feed him anymore. And then, he only sits in the corner of the room and eats his ferrets quietly. But I reckon he'll let you feed him. Ron tried to come in yesterday while we were eating dinner, he told me. But he didn't bow back to him," she said in a sympathetic voice. She stopped just as they approached the door to Buckbeak's room.

Harry opened the door quietly and stepped inside the room. Buckbeak was, as Ginny had told him. Curled up in the corner of the room (as best as the odd creature could, that is.) Ginny stayed in the doorway while Harry walked in and bowed to him. Buckbeak did not stand. He did, however, give a slight nod of his head in Harry's direction. He did the same for Ginny too, even though she didn't bow to him at all. Ginny smiled and walked over to him carefully and rubbed the feathers on the top of his head.

"Hi, Buckbeak," Harry said quietly.

The hippogriff gave out a noise that, to Harry, sounded oddly welcoming. Ginny gave a small laugh. "See, I knew he'd let you in here. He likes you," she said affectionately, still rubbing the top of Buckbeak's head.

Harry nodded and started giving the ferrets to Buckbeak.

A short while later, Ginny and Harry left the room to go wash up. (Ginny suggested this after Harry was sprayed with a load of ferret insides.)

"I'll wait in here," Ginny said, sitting on his bed while Harry left to take a quick shower.

Harry replied, "Okay," and left the room.

About fifteen minutes later, Harry came back to find Ginny reading of his fifth year Potions text. "Good reading?" he asked.

Ginny was startled. "Oh, hello. I didn't realize you'd come back." She set the book down and closed it. "What do you want to do now?" she asked.

"I don't know. What is there to do?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know really," she said thoughtfully. "Last summer all we did was clean… We could just look around the house, I suppose," suggested Ginny.

Harry nodded slowly. "Okay," he considered the idea. "But where do you want to start then?" he asked.

"Well, have you looked around this room?" she asked, spreading her hands to indicated Sirius's room.

"No," Harry said simply.

"Then there's your answer," she said, hopping off the bed. "Let's go to the desk first."

They did. Harry pulled out the first drawer and looked inside. It was shallow and contained a bunch of quills and inkbottles. He tried the next one. This one was deeper than it appeared. There were files in it, lined up and labeled just so. "I might have found something," he said. But as he said that, he was thinking, _these are Sirius's things. I shouldn't be going through them. It's not my place. It isn't right._

"Really?" Ginny said. She set down the eagle feather quill she was moving to the other side of the desk and looked into the drawer Harry had opened. "That's a lot of files. I bet there are more though. Pick one out," she said.

Harry did. He read the label, "Sirius's Motorcycle." Harry's eyebrows shot up, as did Ginny's.

"Sirius had a motorcycle?" she asked incredulously.

"Apparently so," Harry said, opening the file to read more.

Inside was a picture of him on his motorcycle when he appeared to be eighteen or so. He waved at the camera joyfully, before revving the engine and taking off down the road. _This must've been when he first got it_, Harry thought. The next piece of paper was the insurance and things of the sort.

Harry put the file away, but took the picture. He grabbed another file out of the drawer. His guilt was still there. But his curiosity overrode it.

The next file was labeled in a magnificent script, "The Noble House of Black," he read aloud. He opened the file to see pictures of each of the rooms when the house was fully furnished and in top condition. A bunch of other parchments were included in the file concerning previous owners (all, of course, had the last name 'Black'.) It didn't interest Harry at that moment, so he put it away and removed yet another file.

This one was the most intriguing by far. It was titled, "Sirius's Will." Harry had wide eyes as he stared at the file's name. Ginny looked up as he read it and put down her file.

"Well, go on. Don't you want to know what he's left for everyone then?" she asked. Harry nodded and let the file fall open. There were a few sheets of parchment in it. He looked at the one in the back first. "Sirius's Will," it read, "January 1975" Harry looked at the next one up. It appeared the same except for the date, which was "August 1980." This one was considerably longer and took up a full sheet of parchment. Harry skipped to the very front of the file and read it aloud, "Sirius's Will. July 1995."

It said under the heading, "To whom my possessions belong may be found in my previous Wills except for the following." Harry scanned the page. There were two items on it. "To Albus Dumbledore I give the Noble House of Black for use of the Order of the Phoenix."

The next one Harry didn't read aloud. He couldn't. The shock was all consuming. _To my godson, Harry Potter, I leave everything else, including whatever contents in the Noble House of Black that aren't specified previously._

"Is there anything else, Harry?" Ginny asked after giving him a minute to stare at the parchment.

Harry didn't answer her.

"Harry?" she asked, slightly worried.

Silence.

Ginny took the parchment out of his hands and asked, "Harry, are you okay?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, what's the problem then?" she asked. She looked at the parchment and read the second item. "Oh, dear," she said.

Just then, all the pressure of being here, which before seemed non-existent, made Harry snap. He couldn't- wouldn't- take it any more. No, he had to leave. He had to get out of the house.

Harry got up and left the room too quickly for Ginny to stop him. He clambered down the stairs as fast and quietly as he could. As he approached the first floor he made sure he was as quiet as he could be because of the portraits. Butwhen he skipped the last two stairs, he landed loudly and Mrs. Black awoke.

"FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS! MUDBLOODS! SCUM! CREATURES OF D-" Mrs. Black's screeching was cut short by Harry, who had by that time, bottled up enough of his emotions that they were all rolled into one: anger.

"SHUT UP YOU OLD BAT!" Harry yelled at the portrait.

"-SHAME OF MY FLESH THAT HASN'T B-" she screeched. Harry didn't have to ask what she said. He knew she was talking about Sirius.

"HE'S DEAD YOU OLD HAG! SHUT UP!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

Mrs. Black opened her mouth to retort, but just screamed in pain. Her portrait was burning.

Harry's eyes got wide and he fled from the house through the back door.

* * *

Ginny ran after Harry. When she got to the top of the stairs, she watched as he ran out the back door. She was startled when she caught sight of the burning portrait of Mrs. Black.

She was even more startled to find that almost half of the Order of the Phoenix had seen the whole thing and were standing, shocked, in the doorway to the kitchen.

Remus stepped out from the small crowd into the hall and cast a few spells. When he was finished, the portrait of Mrs. Black was hanging on the wall, charred, drenched and silent.

Professor McGonagall was the first to speak. "What was that all about, Albus?"

There was no answer. It seemed that he was deep in thought. But Ginny wouldn't know, as she couldn't see him.

Ginny heard a muffled yelp behind her and turned around. Ron and Hermione were standing there, looking down at the Order of the Phoenix as well. It seemed as if Ron was about to speak when Hermione elbowed him in the side. Hermione put a finger to her lips in an effort to convey the need for silence. Ron nodded slightly.

They all turned back to look down at the hall. The group beneath them was talking amongst itself.

"Where'd he go?"

"-need to find Potter."

"-if the Ministry hears-"

Ginny didn't want to watch them discuss what they were going to do any longer and ran down the stairs as fast as she can and out the back door, ignoring the few calls from behind her.

The door slammed behind her and she quickly took in her surroundings. She was in the back yard. There was a set of table and chairs and a garden. The garden showed feeble signs of life, as if it had been decaying before Mrs. Weasley showed up. The only flowers that were fully blossomed were the lilies. A few were gone as if they had been ripped, though. There was no place to hide. No trees to sit in, or under. There was only a thin bush in the back corner near the fence. She couldn't see Harry anywhere.

The gate that led to the street banged shut and Ginny cursed under her breath. _Harry, where the bloody hell did you go?_ She ran out to the sidewalk and looked around quickly.

The street was empty as far as she could tell. Ginny stomped her foot in frustration and turned back to the house. She quickly turned back, as something white caught her eye.

She ran along the sidewalk to the opposite edge of the house and picked up a lily petal. _Harry, did you snatch the lilies from the garden?_ Ginny started running, looking around at the same time for any sign of Harry.

The wind blew fiercely and she felt as if she was flying again. Memories flooded her mind from previous summers when she would take her brother's broom and go out to the field. She remembered a move she made up. Before she could stop herself, she did a short, condensed version of it on foot and fell ungracefully onto the grass.

Thankful that she was now many blocks away from Grimmauld Place and no one could see her fall like that, she quickly got up and dusted off her pants, hoping she wasn't blushing too much.

The wind blew again and Ginny thought she heard her name. She looked around wildly, blushing, knowing that if someone called her name, they knew her, and probably saw her fall.

Ginny looked down into her hand briefly and was instantly reminded of why she was running. _Harry, where are you?_

"Ginny!" she heard her name whispered loudly. "Over here."

Ginny followed the sound of her name being called and her attention was drawn eight feet up an oak tree, where Harry was perched on a large branch, caressing the three lilies he held in his hand.

"What are you doing up there?" she asked. She found the lowest branch of the tree was just out of her reach. Jumping, she got hold of it and pulled herself up. She did the same thing a few more times and found herself sitting next to Harry.

"I'm sorry, Gin," he apologized. "I didn't know what to do. I shouldn't have been going to Sirius's stuff like that. It was wrong. Then I found-," Harry stopped and looked down shamefully.

Just then, Harry noticed they were at a park. Several of the swings were broken, oddly reminding him of Little Whinging and the Dursleys. The tree they were in was one on the outer edge of a small forest.

"Harry," Ginny was talking to him. "Harry, look at me," she said softly. Harry looked at her. "It's my fault, okay? Don't blame yourself. I was the one that suggested we do all of that. Don't be guilty, Harry. Please?"

"It's not that easy, Ginny," Harry said, looking away, back at the playground.

"I know it isn't Harry," Ginny said understandingly. "But you're strong. I know you can get through this. I'll help you." Ginny put her hand on his arm soothingly.

Harry closed his eyes, savoring her touch, and nodded. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes to look back at her. She smiled at him. Harry put his hand on hers and held it gently.

"Thank you, Ginny."

* * *

Ron and Hermione had special permission from Professor Dumbledore to sit in on the rest of the Order's meeting. The rest of it was about Harry.

"Why can't we just send people out to look for him first?" Mrs. Weasley raged.

"That is what your daughter is doing, Molly," Albus said calmly and patiently.

"She isn't qualified to go looking all over London for him!" she fumed.

"I don't believe Harry will go too far from Grimmauld Place," Dumbledore said reassuringly.

"Do you not remember what happened three summers ago?" she asked incredulously. "He took the Knight Bus from Little Whinging all the way to the Leaky Cauldron! And now he's in more danger and we don't know why he's even run off in the first place!"

"Molly, dear," Arthur Weasley tried to comfort his wife. "Harry will be fine. He's got his wand."

"Does he now? How do you know this?" Molly turned on her husband.

"After that bit in the hallway-," Dumbledore cut off Arthur.

"That 'bit in the hallway' although impressive, did not have his magical signature and therefore, was not achieved by the use of his wand."

Everyone that saw what Harry did to the portrait, and then some, protested.

"Had to-"

"Wandless magic-"

"No way!" Ron said to Hermione.

Hermione said nothing, but only thought about it.

"It's possible, though," she said finally. By the time she said that, many of the protests had died down and everyone could hear her. Many people turned to her. "I've read about it. The book said that only some of the most powerful wizards are able to do wandless magic-"

Snape interrupted her. "Ms. Granger," he said in a tone laced with annoyance. "Kindly take note that Potter is only sixteen and could not possibly have enough magical ability, let alone endurance, to accomplish such a feat. You've read about it and therefore realize how much energy, alone, it takes to do wandless magic."

"Professor, he did fend off a hundred dementors when he was thirteen-"

Snape cut her off again. "That could not have been one-hundred dementors, Ms. Granger-"

This time, Dumbledore cut him off. "He's right, Ms. Granger. It was more upwards of one-hundred. More like one-hundred and twenty-five," his eyes twinkled as he said this.

"Headmaster, can we get to what we are going to do about this problem?" Snape changed the subject, realizing a losing battle.

"An excellent idea, Severus," Dumbledore said. "I do believe that Harry and Ginny will be back on their own time- which will not be very long. Harry doesn't have anywhere else to go, besides perhaps the Burrow or Hogwarts. I will be back at Hogwarts for the rest of the day-and the week, actually. Someone should go to the Burrow at regular intervals until they arrive, to make sure they didn't go there.

"Also, I don't want anyone to bother Harry about why he left when he gets back. I have my theories and would appreciate it if someone notified me when he does arrive.

"If anyone does not have anything to add, then I do believe that's it," Dumbledore finished.

No one had any objections as to what was happening- except, perhaps, Mrs. Weasley, who didn't mention it. The Order slowly left Grimmauld Place after that.

* * *

It was getting a considerably darker at 6:00, considering the fact that it was cloudy all day. Harry and Ginny walked back to Grimmauld Place quietly. _Mum's going berserk, I bet._

Ginny rubbed her hand where Harry had touched her. She sighed audibly, and then blushed as Harry looked at her. Harry smiled when she looked away bashfully.

"Um, Ginny," Harry said. "I've been thinking about something for a while," he said. Ginny looked at him. She didn't know what to expect. "Um, well, your mum's going to go insane when we get back- right?"

Ginny nodded.

"Should we wait before going in, then?" Harry asked.

"Yes. We can wait by the stairs outside," she suggested. Harry nodded.

Soon, they were back at Grimmauld Place. When they arrived, they sat down next to the stairs on the side of the house. Not finding anything to say, they sat in silence for about ten minutes.

At the end of ten minutes, Ginny found the silence suffocating. "I don't think that waiting is going to do any good," she said. "She might stay up and wait for us." She shuddered. "And we're going to get hungry soon enough."

Harry nodded and thought for a moment. Then all of a sudden, a thought hit him. "There's a tree by your window isn't there?"

There was. Ginny nodded. She was about to ask why, but then understood. "Let's go see if we can climb it. Then we can sneak in and escape a possible lecture." They walked to the side of the house. The tree did have low, sturdy branches leading up to the second floor of the house, oddly enough.

Harry grinned and said, "Ladies first."

"Oh, no, Harry. I don't want to be the first to break my neck," Ginny grinned back.

Harry shrugged. "Suit your self." He quickly lifted himself up to the second branch and waited as Ginny got to the first.

"Okay," she told him, and he continued up the tree. Ginny always stayed one branch behind.

_I hope I don't fall._ They were nearing the second floor.

Ginny shrieked as she lost her balance, but it came out a bit muffled because as her arm flew up to regain balance, it covered her mouth. In an instant, Harry got hold of her arm in one hand and a nearby branch in his other.

Harry's arm was getting weaker as she tried to get both of her feet on a branch. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Ginny got her balance back and Harry was able to let go. They sat for a moment, as Harry insisted it. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Ginny nodded. She was still out of breath but managed, "Yes. Thanks for saving me," even though it was punctured with gasps for air.

Harry smiled slightly. "Anytime."

"I'm ready," she slowly stood up. "Three more branches and a window left," she said.

Harry nodded and ascended to the next branch. They got to the top branch with out further trouble.

"Thinking about this now, I don't think this was a good idea," Harry said with a small smile. "We are going to get yelled at either for not coming in through the door, or running off."

Ginny grinned, "Or burning Mrs. Black's portrait."

"That too. I think once we get in, we should probably go tell everyone that we're back," Harry suggested.

Ginny nodded and Harry opened the window.

A few minutes later, they were both inside the house, going down the stairs. The stairs creaked as they walked down them. They could hear a few voices in the kitchen.

"When do you think they will get back?"

"Soon, I hope."

It seemed like it was Mrs. Weasley and Ron and Hermione. Maybe there were more people. The people in the kitchen kept talking and Harry and Ginny whispered to each other.

"How do you want to do this?"

"I'll go in," Ginny said. "I'll go get something to eat. You know it's 7:00 already? And you can just do what ever you want." She grinned. "Make and entrance if you like."

Harry grinned back and sent Ginny through the door.

"You're back!" Mrs. Weasley squealed from behind the door. From the sound of it, Ginny was crushed in a hug. Harry winced.

Harry silently pushed open the door a bit and leaned against it with his hands in his pockets. His hair, which was a bit longer than he would've liked, fell in front of his eyes. He shook his head, tilting back a bit, so he could see again.

It wasn't only Mrs. Weasley, Ron and Hermione that were waiting. Mr. Weasley, Fred and George were also there. Everyone was facing the opposite direction, facing Ginny, as she gathered a few things to eat.

Then the questions started.

"Where's Harry?"

"Where'd you guys go?"

"Why did you two leave?"

"Did you see the portrait?"

Harry smirked in the opposite direction. Then turned his head back to the kitchen. Ginny was silently going about her business, as if she hadn't heard any of it.

After a minute, she put everything on a tray, and turned to the door and the small crowd. Everyone watched her, hoping she was about to answer some questions. Then she smiled as said, "Let's go, Harry." Everyone looked towards the door, as Ginny started to leave.

Harry took the tray from Ginny as they left the kitchen and shut the door. Harry and Ginny smiled at each other and ascended the stairs to Harry's room for a nice, quite dinner.

* * *

Please review. 


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Sorry about the wait. Not to mention the quality of the chapter. Erg. Not the best. Close to the worst, actually. It's my opinion, though- probably you readers too. Anyway, I won't post for an extra long time for next chapter. I haven't started it yet. And finals are coming up. They are January 19-21. So I can't expect to write until January 22. And even then I don't know since my family is having a party on the 21st. sigh I'm sorry. I'll try… but I _do_ have a slightly Hermione side when it comes to studying for finals… Thanks to my beta, as always- Nimbirosa.

* * *

**Orange Crush**

**By MalusMagus**

**Chapter 3**

Harry woke up to a ray of light coming into the room, spilling over the bed and shining in his eyes. He shut his eyes tightly and rolled over to his stomach, burying his head in the nice fluffy pillow, only to find he couldn't breathe. He rolled to his side and stared at the wall for a minute, before getting up out of bed, retrieving a shirt and overly-large jeans and shuffling over to the bathroom, one room over.

Harry returned to the bedroom about a half hour later, dressed and showered, wondering what he was going to do. He found it to be almost 8:30 in the morning, so Ron wouldn't be up. If he were, he'd probably be eating anyway.

With that thought he realized the smell of sausage and eggs and headed to the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley was busy at the stove cooking a variety of things.

"Anything I can do to help?" Harry asked absent mindedly.

Mrs. Weasley looked to the doorway to see Harry leaning against the frame, hands in his pockets, and hair, unruly as ever, spilling over his forehead, waiting for an answer.

"Sure, dear," Mrs. Weasley said kindly, gesturing over to a pile of plates. "You can set the table if you don't mind."

Harry smiled slightly and silently made his way over to the pile of plates. He picked them up and carried them over to the table. He got silverware, napkins, and glasses, and before he knew it, was finished.

"Is there anything else you need?" He asked cheerfully.

Mrs. Weasley, by now, had finished with everything except the potatoes. "Just go wake up Ron, Ginny and Hermione, dear," she said, smiling at him before turning back to the stove. Harry nodded, even though she didn't see him and headed upstairs.

First he went to Ginny and Hermione's room. Girls always take the longest to get ready after all.

"Hermione, Ginny, breakfast is almost ready," he said knocking. He heard two groans and a "Be there in a bit," before he headed to Ron's room. He opened the door.

Ron was snoring loudly. "Ron," Harry said in between snores. "Breakfast is almost ready."

Ron woke up almost instantly and asked groggily, "Wassat 'arry?"

"I said breakfast is almost ready."

Ron nodded and got up. With out a word, he grabbed the clothes of the bedside table and moved into the bathroom. Harry shut the door as he left to go downstairs.

When he got there, Mrs. Weasley was casting warming charms on the plates so the food wouldn't get cold. "Harry dear, Professor Dumbledore will be visiting today to talk with you. After lunch sometime," she said.

Harry nodded and sat down at the table. As he filled his glass with pumpkin juice, Ginny came slowly down the stairs, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Hermione following at a slower pace.

"G'morning," Ginny yawned. "Anything I can do, mum?"

"No, dear," Mrs. Weasley said as she started putting plates of food on the table. "Harry's helped already."

Ginny nodded and yawned as she scooped herself a serving of eggs. "Good for you, Harry," she said tiredly.

They started eating. Five minutes later, Ron trampled down the stairs. "G'morning," he said as he picked up a piece of toast before settling into the chair next to Hermione. Hermione tried to hide her smile by looking away but that only made her appear to blush as well. Ginny caught this and looked back down at her plate, smirking.

"What do you want to do today, Harry?" Ron asked, as if he was purposely ignoring the females in the room.

Harry shrugged.

Mrs. Weasley reminded him by saying to Ron, "The Headmaster is coming right after lunch to talk to him, so you'd better be here by then." Ron nodded and looked at Harry.

Harry smirked and said, "I expect you'll want to go play chess with Hermione."

Ron's ears went red as Hermione blushed light pink. Ron shrugged.

Ginny spoke next. "Well, I'm going to go running today after lunch."

Hermione was curious. "Why?"

"Well," Ginny began an explanation. "I figure that they are definitely going to give Harry his spot back on the team as seeker. Probably captain too, now that I think of it. And well, I wanted to try out for chaser, because seeking isn't really my thing. And I expect since they are going to have to get two new chasers, a lot of people will try out, you know? So I wanted to get in shape."

"Ginny, I'm sorry to break it to you," Harry said, "but you don't look out of shape." He smiled and Ginny blushed scarlet all the way to the edge of her face.

"Still…" she trailed off.

Ron didn't know what to do or say, so he went back to eating his breakfast. He didn't know whether to be surprised at Harry for his comment or agree or beat up Harry for paying attention to his little sister's body.

The rest of breakfast passed by swiftly and soon, Harry was up in his room, lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling as Ginny talked to him.

"You know, Hermione and Ron don't fight much now do they? Ever since they've gotten together. It's strange… Maybe they're planning something? Why else would they be so nice to each other all the time? No, that's ridiculous. What do you think?"

Ginny's voice was so soothing to Harry that he was caught off guard when he realized she'd asked a question.

"I think that they've wanted to be together so long that they don't want to jeopardize it," Harry said, rather intelligently.

Ginny nodded slowly, processing the theory. "Your idea's better than mine."

Harry shrugged.

"What else is there to do here?" Ginny slouched in her chair and looked up at the ceiling with Harry.

"Well, we could look around again, if I don't loose it when we find something again," Harry said with a small smile.

Ginny smirked. "That's an idea. Assuming of course that you _don't_ loose it."

"But that's unlikely, now isn't it?" Harry said.

"We can go ask mum for chores," she grinned. Harry made a face. Ginny laughed loudly.

Harry chuckled.

"We can read our potions text," Harry teased.

This time, Ginny made a face. They both laughed. For the next half hour, they thought of things to do, each activity more ridiculous than the next.

Ron and Hermione sat across from each other, playing a nice game of chess. This was the second one. The first one went quickly to Ron, who first took Hermione's queen when she wasn't paying attention, then easily went ahead and took all of the important pieces, leaving Hermione with a few pawns and her king. To distract Ron, Hermione started humming "Weasley Is Our King." This, of course, was no use, and she lost anyway.

Ron made a show of stretching after he capture Hermione's rook and accidentally on purpose brushed his leg up against hers. This distracted Hermione, who blushed and looked down, trying to hide her smile. Hermione quickly made an attempt at recovering and moved her knight. One more move and she'd be able to capture Ron's bishop. But Ron caught this and swiftly made the bishop move three spaces to the right (diagonally, of course) and capture one of Hermione's remaining pawns.

"Ron!" she whined quietly. She smiled as she examined the chessboard and moved her last rook to the space where Ron's bishop was. She had at last captured an important piece.

She smiled smugly and looked up at Ron. His expression was triumphant. Her smile faded quickly and Ron moved his pawn one space to steal Hermione's last rook. He smirked and Hermione pouted.

_You'd better make this up to me, Ronald Weasley, _she whined in her head.

Ron leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head as if relaxing, when Hermione knew that position in that particular chair was rather uncomfortable. She kicked him and made another move on the chessboard.

"Oy!" Ron said, grabbing his shin. "That hurt 'Mione!"

Hermione grinned smugly. "That's for gloating. Mind you don't do that again."

Ron didn't answer but instead rubbed his shin and moved his queen a few spaces left. _Yeah, yeah, yeah…_

"Are you there, Molly?" the voice of Remus Lupin came through the Floo. Molly bustled from the kitchen into the living room, where Ron and Hermione were playing a game of chess.

"Hello, Remus," Molly said in as kind of a voice as ever.

Lupin smiled but quickly got to the point. "There's going to be an Order meeting a while after lunch today. After Albus talks to Harry, I expect. Make sure your family knows would you?" he asked kindly.

"Of course, Remus. Would you like a spot of lunch before the meeting?" she asked.

"If it wouldn't be much trouble?" he asked.

"Of course it won't be, Remus," Molly said.

Lupin smiled at her. "I'll be there at noon then."

"I'll see you then, Remus," Molly said. Lupin nodded and cut off the connection.

"Mum?" Ron asked from the chessboard. Molly turned to face her youngest son. "Can we come to this one?" he asked.

"I expect not, dear. You'll have to ask the Headmaster," she sighed and left to go back into the kitchen.

Harry and Ginny discussed the possibilities of things to do until lunch. After getting to Ginny's suggestion of flying to Hogwarts and teaching the Giant Squid to waltz, Harry suggested they go feed Buckbeak some brunch. They nodded and left to get a few dead rodents before entering Mrs. Black's old room where Buckbeak stayed.

Harry and Ginny both bowed to the Hippogriff, each of them receiving a bow shortly after, and closed the door behind them.

"Hello, Buckbeak," Ginny said, and carefully walked towards the hippogriff, holding a ferret in her hand. When she got a bit closer, she threw the ferret up into the air and Buckbeak caught it, landing loudly on the floor and going to sit in the corner to chew on the poor animal.

Ginny and Harry took a seat on the floor near the door, next to the remains of a once beautiful pillow. They talked for a while, occasionally throwing another ferret to Buckbeak when he'd get up after finishing one. When they ran out of ferrets, they said goodbye to Buckbeak and left to clean up.

When they were all clean, they headed downstairs for their own lunch. Harry held the door open for Ginny and they entered the kitchen. Ron and Hermione were already there, eating chicken sandwiches and salad. Mrs. Weasley was making more sandwiches at the counter. And to Harry and Ginny's surprise, Remus was also there.

"Good afternoon," Remus greeted the two.

Harry merely nodded while Ginny gave Remus a warm welcome. "Hello, Remus. How are you? Is the next full moon close? You're looking quite pale. I'm sure you're just not eating enough. Mum, are you making his sandwich? You should put a bit more meat on it. Yes, that's good," Ginny continued on in this vein until Harry touched her arm and smirked at her. She instantly got his message and blushed. _I'm sounding like my mother!_ She sat down at the table. Harry joined her.

The group talked a lot as they ate. But eventually, lunch was over and Ginny got up to put her dishes away, grabbing Harry and Hermione's while she was at it. Just as she reached the sink, there was a loud crack coming from the living room. A moment later, Dumbledore came through the door, eyes twinkling as ever.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Dumbledore said cheerfully.

"Good day, Albus. Care for a spot of lunch?" Molly asked.

"Oh, no, Molly, just had a bit of Yorkshire pudding before I arrived. Maybe later a bit of your apple pie if you have some?" he asked with a smile.

"I actually baked some this morning," Molly said.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore was jovial and he turned to Harry. "If you're done, I'd like to speak with you for a moment," he said.

Harry nodded and got up. He looked to his friends who gave him grim smiles, not knowing what he was going to talk to him about. Harry followed the old Headmaster out of the kitchen and into the study, where they each sat in chairs across from each other.

Albus Dumbledore pulled out a few things from his pockets next. One was an odd watch, which he set on the end table next to his chair. Next, he pulled out a bundle of parchments, held in a roll by a piece of twine. He untied the parchments and set them on the desk. On top, was a paper, Harry didn't know if he ever wanted to see again: Sirius's most recent will.

Harry's heart dropped. He figured that under the will, were the other wills made before. _Sirius shouldn't have died. It's my fault. I should not have to be looking at these. Sirius's things shouldn't be given to anyone. They are his. He shouldn't be dead._

The last things Dumbledore pulled from his pocket were a quill and a bottle of black ink. He set them on the table as well, and picked up the wills.

"Harry, these are Sirius's wills. I believe that you have seen them already?" Dumbledore asked.

"I didn't really read them, sir," Harry said, staring at the papers. "Just the most recent one."

Dumbledore nodded. "That is why I wanted to talk to you today. I wanted to know what Sirius has left you specifically. You already know that you get everything that isn't specified in his other wills."

Harry nodded, telling the Headmaster he understood and that he should continue.

"First, you get his motorcycle. You also get most of the things in his Gringotts vault, not including, 10,000 galleons and 1 sickle that go to Remus Lupin, 10,000 galleons that go to Miss Nymphadora Tonks, and 20,000 galleons that go to the Weasley family. That leaves almost 25,000 galleons for you. Then all of the possessions in the vault, not including a few journals and magical items of value to Remus Lupin. Also, Sirius left a few things for the Malfoys and the Lestranges as well-," Dumbledore said.

Harry was suddenly very angry. "The Malfoys and the Lestranges? Was he insane?" he asked loudly.

"I'll leave that for you to decide, Harry. He's left the Lestranges' a few pairs of dirty socks, and for the Malfoy's he left an old painting Sirius found quite ugly. One of his ancestors, I believe, drawn by a… untalented, unnamed artist."

Harry stopped himself from smirking and just nodded his head, before adding in a calm, confident voice, "He was sane."

Dumbledore merely smiled before continuing, "Twelve Grimmauld Place has been left to the Order. But you are permitted to take as many items as you would like. Sirius requested that you leave certain appliances and such things for the Order to use."

Harry nodded. _I won't take the toilet, I promise…_

"If you could tell your friends, especially Hermione, for me, Sirius left them use of the library at anytime they wish to use it. He also left his Chocolate Frog Card collection to Ronald. He's also left all of the clothes up for grabs for you and your friends. For Hermione and Ginny, there are girls' clothes in his mother's old bedroom, but he doesn't recommend those, but rather the clothes that Narcissa, Andromeda, and Bellatrix used to wear, they are in the attic with an anti-dust sort of charm performed on them. Also, I will quote, he looked at one of the older wills. 'They weren't very nice (save Andromeda, of course,) but they definitely had a sense of style.' He seems quite positive the ladies will appreciate the clothes. For you and Ron, he only suggests his clothes as his father and brother was not at all very stylish, Sirius thought." Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling again. "It is requested that you sign a few papers, accepting it all."

Harry nodded and took the parchments given to him. He signed the appropriate spaces and gave it all back to Dumbledore.

Harry nodded again. "Is that it, sir?" he asked.

"For the wills, yes," he answered. "But there is some other business I wish to discuss with you." He produced four envelopes from his pockets and handed them to Harry. One was addressed to him. The others were addressed to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny respectively. Ginny's seemed a bit lighter than the rest, though. "Yours, Ron and Hermione's all contain your O.W.L. results. They were mailed today, but I thought that you might want them a bit sooner."

Harry set them aside, wanting to wait for the others to open them. Dumbledore, who expected nothing less, continued. "Professor McGonagall wished for me to give you this," Dumbledore produced yet another envelope from one of his many pockets and handed it to Harry. It was addressed to him, so he opened it. It contained a letter and a badge. It was a Quidditch Captain's badge, decorated in red and gold. Harry opened up the letter and read it.

Dear Mr. Potter,

It is my wish that you accept the invitation of the position of Gryffindor's Quidditch captain. You have been on the team the longest, and all of Dolores Umbridge's decrees have been made void. Of course, you have been accepted back as the Gryffindor's seeker, as well, without tryouts. You will receive your Firebolt later today.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

"I really don't want to be Quidditch Captain, sir," Harry said when he finished the letter.

"Why not, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, the curiosity in his voice evident.

"Well, sir, I don't know the first thing about being a captain. Plus, Ron is the one with all the strategy. He would make a much better captain," Harry insisted.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Harry nodded confidently.

"Good! That makes the next topic most possible," Dumbledore said, taking the badge from Harry as it was handed to him. "I was hoping you would continue the Defence Association this year. The exam results have been much higher than usual. With the teacher last year, who was clearly incapable of her duties and a mistake from the beginning, it is quite extraordinary."

Harry didn't know what to say. _Wow, people passed their Defence exams with that old toad teaching?_ "Sir, I don't know what to say."

"Well, the D.A. would have to be a school sponsored club, so a staff member would have to supervise, but that would be the staff member's only intention. You, and possibly your friends, would be the only one teaching. I might also add that because it would be school sponsored, all of the students would have to be invited. The only way someone could not be invited is by excluding the whole year, and those years under," he added the last part, meaning that Slytherins would have to be invited as well.

"I suppose I should think about it a bit, sir. If I have Quidditch, it could be tricky," Harry said. "But I definitely _will_ think about it," Harry said.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore said. He started to put things back in the pockets they came from. After that, he pulled from a side pocket a box of lemon drops. He offered Harry some, who politely declined. I do believe that concludes our discussion unless you have something else to bring up?"

Harry shook his head.

"Then I will see you later this evening, perhaps."

Harry nodded.

They exited the room and Harry left immediately to go find Ginny. She found her in his room waiting for him. "I was going to go running now, if you'd like to join me?" she asked. She had changed into a sporty muggle outfit, suitable for running, and was sitting at the desk.

"Sure," Harry said. He looked down. He was already wearing clothes he could run in. Plus, this could give him a break from thinking of everything he was just told.

"Great!" Ginny exclaimed. "I was going to go around the block twice and then see how I felt. Is that okay with you?" she asked. Harry nodded and followed her all the way out the door. They started running at a slow pace that could be considered jogging just as they stepped out of the door.

"Did you ask Ron and Hermione to come?" Harry asked as they turned the corner.

"No. I was looking for them, but I found them sitting very close together on the window seat and didn't want to disturb them," she laughed. "They can't get enough of each other."

Harry agreed by laughing with her. They were silent until they were coming back to number twelve to start the second lap. Just as they arrived, Ginny noticed the flowers on the side of the house. "Maybe we should go into the garden tomorrow and help fix the flowers. Some of them don't look so great."

Harry nodded. They were silent again for a while during the second lap. When they were about to finish the last lap, Ginny sped up. She had just finished explaining that it was somehow good for you if you went a bit faster as you finished the last lap. But Harry got an idea as she sped passed him.

He started chasing her. She looked back at him and yelped as he came close, but sped up and turned to the side of number twelve and headed into the back yard. Harry ran a bit faster to try and catch up. They were both grinning like mad as they ran in circles round the back.

The Order of the Phoenix was scattered around Twelve Grimmauld Place, chatting amongst themselves about the meeting that had just taken place. Remus was talking to Minerva McGonagall and Tonks.

Tonks said, "That was nice of Sirius wasn't it?" She was referring to the distribution of Sirius's things. They had of course only been told what they were getting after the meeting. They didn't hear what he had saved for the Malfoys and Lestranges.

"Especially that he specifically gave Number Twelve to the Order. You know how easily it would've been for someone like Narcissa to claim it otherwise," Minerva added.

Remus merely nodded. He was still upset that Sirius had even died, as was expected. His face was solemn and his eyes were shinning with tears. He turned away slightly from the two women and stared out the window, a bit to his left. Harry was chasing Ginny around the yard. Remus' solemn face grew into a happier one.

Tonks and Minerva followed Remus' line of sight out the window to the two teenagers and slowly, their faces grew happier as well.

"They look like Lily and James," Remus said softly.

Minerva's eyes glistened with tears as she remembered seeing a similar sight about twenty years ago.

"Really?" Tonks asked curiously as Harry finally caught Ginny in a patch of long grass and they fell down and out of sight.

Remus and Minerva nodded simultaneously. "Most definitely," Albus said as he walked up to the three.

Ginny couldn't stop laughing. "Stop," she laughed and tried to speak, "tickling me!"

Harry grinned and shook his head. And continued to tickle Ginny's sides.

"Stop!" Ginny laughed. "Or," she laughed, "I'll hex," she laughed some more, "you!"

Harry stopped and said in mock horror, "You wouldn't!"

"When we get back to school, yes," she said as she caught her breath.

Harry sighed and fell back upon the ground to look up at the sky, which was mostly covered in clouds, although the sky was a beautiful blue behind the whiteness. His thoughts strayed to what Dumbledore had said to him.

"Are you okay Harry?" Ginny looked at him concernedly.

Harry looked at her and smiled before nodding. "Just thinking."

"Of what?" she asked, rolling to her stomach and propping her head up with her hands.

Harry thought about if he should talk about it outside. "The stuff that Dumbledore talked to me about," Harry said. Before Ginny could say anything else about it, Harry assured her, "I'll tell you, Ron and Hermione all at once."

Ginny nodded. _What should we talk about?_ She thought as silence over came the two of them. The wind picked up suddenly and Harry asked, "Do you want to go inside?" She nodded again and went to fix her hair first.

She pulled the hair band out and her hair fell loose. Expertly, she put it back up. As soon as she finished, she found Harry standing up, offering his hand to help her up. She blushed against her will and put her hand in his.

Harry pulled her up with ease, although looks were deceiving and Ginny was heavier than expected. But of course, that changed nothing and he said nothing of it. They headed back inside.

Hermione looked at the chessboard thoughtfully. She chanced a quick look at Ron to find he was looking on her side of the board towards her left. Looking back at the board, she saw he was looking at her rook. She searched the board for something that could destroy her rook. She hid a grin as she spotted his knight, one move away from taking the rook. Then, she found her bishop was in a position to take the knight. She moved the bishop, effectively taking Ron's knight.

Ron expected his face reflected the disappointment he was feeling. He had a whole plan, successfully squashed by his opponent in one move. He rapidly formed another, his face slowly forming a grin. He and Hermione swapped moves for a while, making the plan a victory. In five more moves, he'd taken Hermione's king. Ron grinned smugly.

"Oh, honestly, Ron. It's just a chess game," Hermione said disapprovingly. Just then, they heard the front door shut softly, followed by laugher.

"That can't be true!" Harry laughed.

"It isn't!" Ginny laughed. "But it's a good joke isn't it?"

Harry must've nodded, because the only answer was more laughter.

"There you are!" Ron's mum called as she saw Ginny and Harry come into the house. "I was wondering when you'd get back."

Ron and Hermione got up to see Harry and Ginny. They walked into the entrance hall. To see them all smiling and Ginny and Harry were holding back more laughter.

"Molly, they've been at Grimmauld Place for about a half hour," Remus said as he came in from the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley looked at Remus in a confused fashion.

"They were in the back yard. Minerva, Tonks and I saw them," Remus left it at that. He glanced at Harry and Ginny with a small smile on his face.

"I didn't know that," Mrs. Weasley said. "That's good. Well, then, I'll see you four at dinner at five thirty." She turned and went back into the kitchen, finding that nothing else had to be said.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other and laughed again; this time, for no apparent reason.

"What is with you two?" Ron asked.

"Oh, nothing, Ronald," Ginny said before laughing again.

"Yeah, right," Ron grumbled.

"I just told him a joke, alright?" Ginny said exasperatedly. Both Harry and Ginny gradually stopped laughing.

"Oh yeah? Which one?" Ron asked disbelievingly.

"The one about the Vampire and the Troll," Ginny said. "What's the matter with you, Ron?"

"Nothing," Hermione answered for him. "Maybe just too many chess games won in a row."

"You almost one two of them, Hermione," Ron said arrogantly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "What a victory," she said dryly.

Remus merely watched the four teenagers as he leaned up against the wall, arms crossed, smiling.

"Remus," Ginny turned to the older man. "Was there an Order meeting or something?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes there was."

"Anything we should know about?" Ron asked.

Hermione elbowed him in the side. "Ron, he's not supposed to tell us. Anyway, don't you think if we were to know, they would have let us sit in on the meeting?"

Ron shrugged. Then Remus spoke up. "Harry, could I talk to you for a moment?" Harry nodded and followed the werewolf to the drawing room.

"What'd you want to talk about?" Harry asked him when they reached their destination.

"The wills," Remus said. Harry nodded and Remus continued. "I don't know if you were told this Harry, but Sirius had instructed that I was to be your legal guardian should something happen to him and because you were never given a godmother."

Harry sat and took this in. Remus was his godfather now. Harry tried to repress the happiness that welled up inside him. _Last time I had a godfather, we made plans to have a happy life, and now look what's happened. Don't count your chickens before they hatch, they say._

Remus incorrectly and correctly read his expression at the same time. "I won't bother you about it or anything much. I don't want to _replace_ Sirius or anything."

"You're not replacing him, really, Remus," Harry said thoughtfully. "I didn't know him very well, you know. I knew him for two years and we were close, but I didn't really get to _know_ him…" Harry trailed off. He took a deep breath and looked at Remus, rather than the wall he'd been staring at. "I really am glad it's _you_ that he appointed." He smiled as best he could in the situation.

Remus smiled back. "Thank you, Harry," he said. For a while he didn't say anything and appeared thoughtful. Harry didn't interrupt his thoughts, but instead waited a while until he finally spoke. "I was wondering if you'd like to spend a bit of time with me tomorrow. Out in the back yard, with a motorcycle and a few lessons."

Harry's eyes brightened a bit and a smile escaped him. "You mean, you'd teach me how to ride Sirius's motorcycle?"

Remus nodded and gave Harry a smile.

"Okay then. Sounds like a plan. What time?" he asked.

"Let's make it ten o'clock, okay?" Remus suggested. Harry nodded. "I think that's it then. I should be going. I have a few errands to run," he said as they began to exit the room.

They left the room and headed back towards the living room, where they found Ginny witnessing one of Ron and Hermione's chess games. Remus made to leave when Harry called him back. "Thanks," he said, before letting the werewolf leave. They smiled and Remus disappeared out of the room. Shortly after, the front door opened and closed. Harry sighed and sat down on the sofa.

"Checkmate!" said Ron triumphantly. Hermione rolled her eyes.

Ginny went over and sat next to Harry. Just then, Harry got an idea. "Ron, Hermione, Gin, I should probably tell you everything that Dumbledore talked to me about," he said thoughtfully.

Ron and Hermione's head snapped to his direction. They nodded and rose from their seats. "Your room, then?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded and they all headed up the stairs and to Sirius's old room.

There, they all sat on the bed. Ron and Harry at the end leaning against the posts. Hermione and Ginny were at the head, leaning against the many overstuffed pillows. Then Harry began his explanation.

He told them what he was left with and what they were left with. Ginny and Ron smiled as they heard how much money their family inherited. But didn't comment until he'd finished.

"There's more," Hermione sensed. "Isn't there?"

Harry nodded. He was just getting into his explanation about the D.A. when there was a shriek from downstairs.

Like lightening, they all jump off the bed and ran down the stairs into the kitchen, where they thought the sound came from.

It was Mrs. Weasley. She was holding a letter and sobbing in her husband's arms. Ginny tentatively walked up to her parents. With out a word, her mother handed her a piece of parchment.

Ginny quickly scanned it. When she looked back at Harry, her expression was blank.

"It's Percy," she said emotionlessly.

* * *

Author's Note: Please review. 


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